The 2009 Formula 1 season was one of changes for the racing series. After years of cars getting wider and seeing aero appendages all over them, the 2009 season introduced radical new cars, with skinnier outlines, simpler aero, and the return of slick tires as opposed to the grooved tires seen since 1998. This was all down to aide overtaking, and whilst it didn’t quite have the desired effect, the rules change did do one thing. It massively shook up the competitive order of the sport and saw a number of teams rise to the very front.

Red Bull, for example, went from a team in the midfield to suddenly becoming one of the fastest teams on the grid, and are of course still running at the front to this day. McLaren and Ferrari meanwhile slipped down the order. But the 2009 season is best remembered for the tremendous success that the Brawn GP team had, rising from the ashes of the curtailed Honda factory effort to sweep to both world titles, with Jenson Button winning the driver's title. The 2009 Formula 1 season was one of the most dramatic which the sport has ever seen.

The Backstory To The Brawn Outfit

Brawn BGP 009 During 2009 Pre Season Testing
via Formula 1

The Brawn team was born from a buyout of the former Honda F1 team by its technical director Ross Brawn. At the end of a horrific 2008 season, Honda elected to pull the plug on its F1 team. This was despite the Japanese car manufacturer putting a lot of money into its car for 2009. Knowing its 2008 would be difficult, Honda had pumped a lot of recourses into 2009 to make sure it started the season as strongly as possible. Ultimately, that effort would pay off handsomely for Brawn and Jenson Button.

Brawn BGP001 Double Diffuser
via Autosport

The key to the success of the Brawn car, the BGP001, was the innovative double diffuser that only a small number of teams used, and only Brawn used effectively. The double diffuser came through a loophole in the technical regulations. The rear diffuser generates downforce on a racing car, and an engineer at Honda realized that the regulations said nothing about the transition from the car's step plane, to the reference plane. The step plane is the part of the car that the plank is attached to, and the reference plane is the floor of the car itself. Adding a hole in that grey area meant the diffuser height was raised, creating the double diffuser.

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The Trick Paid Off

Start Of The 2009 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix
via Formula 1

Remarkably, the double diffuser, and the overall design of the Brawn car, paid off more than the team could have ever hoped. During its first test, the Brawn team was around a second faster than their rivals and Button thought something was off in their calculations. As it turned out though, that really wasn’t the case. When the F1 circus rocked up in Melbourne, the Brawn team took 1-2 on the grid with Button’s teammate Rubens Barrichello in second, ahead of Sebastian Vettel in the Red Bull.

Button Wins 2009 Turkish Grand Prix
via Planet F1

After an eventful race, Brawn would go on to finish 1-2 in Melbourne and Button swept to victory in six of the first seven races of the season, with Vettel interrupting that run in China. Button and Brawn were in commanding form in the championship, adding wins such as Turkey and Monaco to their resume and looking unbeatable. Other teams had protested the double diffuser, which was also on cars such as the Toyota and Williams, but to no avail, and while it was outlawed for 2010, it was permitted for the rest of the 2009 season.

Slipping Back Down The Order

F1-Fansite.com-HD-Wallpaper-2009-Germany-F1-GP_20
via F1 Fan Site

Sadly, Brawn would soon lose their competitive advantage over the field. Red Bull caught up with big updates to their RB5, including the addition of their own double diffuser. Meanwhile, the money had started to dry up at Brawn for development having not put any major upgrades on their car for much of the year. Barichello was able however to add two wins to the team's tally in Valencia and Monza, and Button and the team were able to hang on to their lead in both championships to take both world titles. The following year, the Brawn team was sold to Mercedes, and we all know how that turned out.

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A Stunning Story For Formula 1

2009 Brazilian Grand Prix Qualifying - Jenson Button
via Max F1

The Brawn and Button tale is almost a fairytale for Formula 1. A team and driver that no one expected to be in contention for that year's title taking all the glory as the usual suspects of McLaren and Ferrari struggled. We also saw the emergence of Red Bull and Vettel as a winning force, with Mark Webber also taking two victories that year to cement his place as a Grand Prix winner. It really was a season for the ages, and the Brawn car in its stunning white and neon green livery will go down in history as one of the most innovative and remarkable cars in the history of Formula 1.

Sources: Formula 1, Planet F1, Autosport, F1 Fan Site, Max F1, Wikimedia